The Last of the Time Lords
by Patronydoe77
Summary: *WIP* The Face of Boe always said 'You Are Not Alone'. The Doctor didn't know what that meant or even when he would know. Until a unexpected stop in England. Hopefully this will become a full length epic story, starts with the Tenth Doctor.
1. Prologue

Prologue

He hadn't heard the strange whooshing sound, nor did he notice the blue box that appeared when there was a flash of lightning and a roll of thunder. He sprinted out of the oncoming storm and into the safety of a tunnel.

He was running again, he had been doing that a lot lately, not that he would remember. He heard footsteps splash, echoing through the tunnel, the moment he stopped for breath. They would catch him soon; he wasn't healthy enough, strong enough to go much farther. He knew for a fact that one for his ribs was broken from the excruciating pain in his side and his own wheezing breathing. Shakily, he pulled his wand out of his a pocket of his baggy, damp sweatshirt pocket with his right hand. His wand wouldn't do him any good, but it made him feel better.

They would catch him, corner him, wipe his memory and dump him back in the hell hole he was supposed to call home. He was starved and beaten but still hanging by that thread of hope Dumbledore couldn't take away from him.

The only reason he even knew what was going on was that he had started a journal, at Hermione's insistence, after Sirius died. He was flipping back through the pages, rereading what he had written, when he realized what was there and what he remembered did not match. Thus, came the planning and the counter attack. He was a lot cleverer than what people gave him credit for. Hermione would be proud.

The sound of a tin can clanging along the concrete floor, echoed in the cavernous space. He heard his name being called out.

"Potter, I know you're there."

Holding his wand in front of him, defensively, he slowly backed up, trying to make as little sound as possible. The tunnel bent in either direction and he didn't know which way his captors were coming from. He was surprised he had even made it this far from Privet Drive without collapsing, but he was going to soon.

His free hand flew to the pocket of his oversized jeans as Mad-Eye Moody came into view around one of the corners with Kingsley Shacklebolt, close behind coming from the opposite direction. Harry grasped at something metallic and glittery with his left hand and pulled it close to his heart, in a calming motion.

Harry looked behind him, hoping for an escape route but there was none and he knew he wouldn't be able to make it if he tried getting away in this torrential downpour. He was surrounded. It was a lost cause, but he swore he would go down fighting once again.

Before he knew it he had two wands pointed at his chest and no way out.

He backed right up against the cold, wet wall, letting out a single shrill cry. Wand still out stretched, albeit shakily, the other hand still clasped to his chest.

They were talking to him now, telling him he was useless and he shouldn't try to fight what was laid out. And other degrading remarks. It shouldn't have bothered Harry, these threats. It wasn't anything different than what the Dursley's told him daily. It was more the fact that these had been people he had trusted with his life and they were now doing the unthinkable.

"You are an inconvenience and a trouble maker. I don't know why Dumbledore keeps you around."

Something moved out of the corner of Harry's eye, the direction Moody had come from.

It was a man, silently running down the long tunnel, dressed in a suit and an overcoat, holding a thick silver rod with a blue light blinking at the end. Their eyes met. Once the man was close enough, he mouthed 'duck'. Harry let his legs give out just as the gas main behind him exploded, sending his two attackers flying.

Once the dust had cleared from the exploding gas main, Harry tried to sit up but realized he didn't have enough strength to. He squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"Shh, don't move." Came a voice Harry didn't recognize, but opening his eyes he saw it belonged to his savior. The man laid a hand on his shoulder and waved the rod over his body. Harry closed his eyes again and his ears filled with the sound of a strange but comforting whirling noise.

His savior sighed sadly and with a rustle of fabric something soft was tucked under his head.

"What is your name?"

"They call me Harry." The metal object in his hard warmed slightly as Harry answered. He didn't know what made him answer that way but it felt right.

"And they call me The Doctor." The man said. He grasped Harry's hand, the one holding the glittering metal. "Let me help you."

"Alright." Harry slowly opened his eyes back up and got a better look at the man called The Doctor. Doctor, a man who makes people better. Brown hair stuck up in all directions and dark, rectangular glasses framed a pair of ancient and sad brown eyes. He looked about thirty, but Harry suspected he was much older than that.

With an overwhelming urge, Harry slipped what he had been holding in his left hand into The Doctor's and the warm metal switched hands. It was a silver pocket watch, tarnished slightly with time but still glittering all the same. It was warm to the touch and not from body heat, but heat of its own.

The Doctor slowly turned the time mechanism over in his hand, written in Gallifreyan were the words: _The Leader._

He looked at the child now breathing shallowly now, covered in dust and surrounded by rubble. He was certain that this belong to the boy. Memories of a Time Lord. But how had he survived the Time War, the only ones able to escape the Temporal Shield had been himself and The Master. Everyone else was there, on Gallifrey, summoned by the Call and destroyed, by him, in the Time War.

Harry squeezed his hand that still held on to one of The Doctor's, he didn't know how much longer he could last.

"Come on, kid." The Doctor said. He wrapped his coat that he used for Harry as a pillow and draped it over him before he picked the boy up bridal style. "Let's get you someplace safe." Harry groaned in pains as his body was lifted up and carried out of the tunnel. The two attackers hadn't even stirred. Outside it was still raining but not as hard. Thunder still rumbled in the distance but the worst of the storm had already passed.

The door to the TARDIS swung open at its own accord to let her pilot in and shut it with a click behind him. There was a chaise chair in the Console room by the Captain's chair ready for use and a cup of water complete with a straw sat nearby on the console.

The Doctor laid a still conscious Harry out on the chaise the TARDIS had provided. He got some fluids into the child before he passed out.

The Doctor settled on the chair next to the chaise, to watch over the child. He had seen a lot in all his centuries of travelling, but child abuse got him every time. He had felt the TARDIS scan the child and catalogue him for the future. He was just barely sixteen according to the records the TARDIS collected.

It began raining heavily again outside the TARDIS, this time without the thunder and lightning. The Doctor sat in the Console room turning the silver pocket watch in his hand over and over. The presence of the time piece meant two things. One, the boy was a Time Lord and he had looked into the Untempored Schism already and two, he was hiding or being hidden, but why?

Now came the tricky part of whether or not to get the child to open the pocket watch. He could feel the child dying and the TARDIS already confirmed it. Not saying anything would allow the child to die peacefully, and never knowing of the great heritage he carried. He saw the look in the child's eyes though; it was the same one he saw in his reflection every day, the look of having seen too much, too many battles and too many deaths. There was that glimmer of hope though, that wanderlust, especially when the child had seen him coming. He could persuade the child to open the watch, open all that could be done, who he was and who he could become. He wouldn't be alone; he could teach him and have him carry on the legacy of the Time Lords of Old for hundreds more years. But then loneliness would befall the child too.

He would leave that decision up to the child.


	2. Harry

Chapter 1

Harry's Choice

It was two days before Harry woke. With some strange resolve The Doctor hadn't moved the TARDIS the entire time.

He had gotten several things, including a plan, worked out. He brought Harry out a cup of lukewarm, no sugar or milk added, tea. Anything else would upset the child's stomach; he learned that much from Martha.

The child accepted it with a small smile that was reflected in his emerald green eyes, that was a good sign. The Doctor sat on the seat next to the chaise. He wasn't doing so well, the child, the chaise was the only thing keeping upright. The Doctor pulled out a small canister.

"What I have in here are called nanogenes, they repair injuries and cuts. Like tiny robots. Would you be willing to let them treat your ribs and that bruise on your hip?"

With a slightly unsure look, the child nodded yes. The Doctor opened up the canister and a cloud of gold floated out and over the child's torso and hip. In a moment the injuries were gone and The Doctor saw the relief spread over the child's face.

"I'm sorry I can't do anything for the starvation or dehydration. The nanogenes don't work like that."

"Thank you." It was barely a breath, but he heard it loud and clear. He gave the dying child a small smile.

"It doesn't hurt, dying." This wasn't a question; it was a statement of fact from the child. "I've almost done it before, a couple times in fact. But help would always come in the nick of time. I was one the first time it happened. I saw it, the green light. It killed my mother first. Then the killer turned to me and the green light sped towards me, everything hurt and then nothing. I was told later that the entire cottage had been destroyed with the backlash and the killer was forced to flee. But I guess my time is up now?"

One thought was clear in The Doctor's mind; the child had regenerated once already.

The Doctor held onto one of the child's hands. He hadn't felt this protective of anyone since he met his clone daughter Jenny or even his granddaughter Susan.

As he sat there, he told the child all about the Time Lords and Gallifrey, who they were, what they did and their duty to the universe. Many of the adventures he had been on and all the companions that had accompanied him along the way. He had never told anyone this much. Maybe it was the fact that the child was a fellow Time Lord or maybe it was the child was a listener, he didn't know.

"The life of the last Time Lord is a lonely one, so much beauty and so much death."

"I wish I could go with you." The child breathed. "I've already seen pain and suffering. This just lets me help people at the same time. This place holds nothing for me anymore." The Doctor covered his mouth with his free hand, unwilling to let the threatening tears fall. The child was fading fast.

"There's this thing about Time Lord that I haven't told you. In the utmost danger they can take what makes them a Time Lord and put it into a Time Piece and become human to everyone and everything and they wouldn't know otherwise." The Doctor pulled out his own Time Piece and the child's as well. He placed a Time Piece in each of the child's hands. The child's fingers automatically curled around the one The Doctor knew had the Time Lord memories in it.

The time for choosing had come. Harry's eyes began to droop. There wasn't much time left.

"Those Time Lord memories are yours." The Doctor said. He saw that caught the child's attention with that statement.

"You can die peacefully and move on. No more hardships, pain or suffering. You would be at peace and with your family. Or you can open it. The pain would still kill you but you will regenerate and get a new body, a different face. I- you won't be alone anymore." He knew it was selfish and vain but the child was just that: a _Gallifreyan_ child. This was one of his own people, not spoiled by the war, a mystery to unravel at the child's very existence, a protégé to be shown the universe. But every blessing came with a curse. He himself only had two regenerations left and he was quite certain the child still had several. Leaving him like himself, a lone god and traveler without a home and no one else like him.

He heard the click of the Time Piece open and saw the golden mist of memories spill out and surround the dying child. The child let out a strangled cry of pain. There wasn't much The Doctor could do for the child once the regeneration began.

The old, sickly look faded away to a healthier, more angular look. Jet black hair faded too, to a dark brown with tight curls framing the child's face and emerald green eyes became sapphire blue. He still looked only sixteen which made The Doctor figure that was the child's actual age. Time Lords aged normally until they reach majority, then slowed and aged ten times as slow, but proceeded to age backward with each regeneration, so the older they got the younger they looked.

With a final blast of golden regeneration energy, the regeneration ended and the child fell unconscious. He brushed a lock of hair from the child's sleeping face. This was a start of a new adventure. He leaned down and picked up the both the Time Pieces which had fallen to the floor during the regeneration, and placed both in one of the pockets of his jacket with his sonic screwdriver.

If the Time Lord Child was going to stay, then there were some things he had to do.

It had been a long time since he had a child to take care of, his own wife and children died in the Time War.

The child would need to learn how to drive the TARDIS, and a sonic screwdriver and someplace to call his own. Brilliant!

"Oh, clever child!" he exclaimed as he noticed the emerald green time trail leaving the TARDIS. He jumped up and scanned it with the whirling sonic screwdriver. Just a quick nip out for the child's personal belongings and he would be back before he was missed. He grabbed his coat and raced out of the TARDIS, one hand still holding the sonic screwdriver and the other struggling to get his coat on.

"Oh!" The Doctor stopped suddenly realizing that he had forgotten to close the TARDIS door behind him. With a click of his fingers it closed and beeped locked behind him. Once again he was off.

The screwdriver scanned the time trail which leads back down the road labeled 'Magnolia Crescent' and turned onto the road labeled 'Privet Drive'. The time trail stopped right outside the house labeled '4'. The Doctor frowned as the sonic screwdriver went haywire. There was no one in the house, and no car in the drive. He sonic-ed the door open and the usual blue light of the sonic screwdriver blipped red. It was all very strange.

He looked at the readings again and then whacked the thing against his palm several times before looking at it again. All it read was something bad. Not metal, not alien, not unusual, just bad. He signed and spun in a circle on one foot, head hung back, hands falling to his sides. Then he stopped. The photos! How could he have been so stupid? There weren't any pictures of the child, yet the time trail lead right up and into the house. He scanned the area again. Upstairs.

He took the steps two at a time. The first door on the landing was thrown open: Master bedroom. Second door: Guest room. Third door: Bathroom. Fourth door: Linen closet. Fifth door: Boy's room, but not the child's. Too many sweet wrappers litter the floor and the clothes were several sized too large. Not that the rags that the child was wearing were any smaller. He slammed the door behind him and approached the last door. There were three dead bolts, a slide lock, a chain lock and a cat flap. He undid the locks and pushed the door open.

The room was bear except for a single brass framed bed that would have toppled over at the slightest touch. It was topped with a thin mattress and an even thinner blanket. One of the floorboards under the bed was pulled up. He went over to that side of the room and the sonic screwdriver went crazy. He carefully pulled the floorboards up the rest of the way and inside there was a hard bound blue journal made out of parchment paper that looked fairly expensive considering the state of everything else. There was also a cheap pen and a piece of folded up cloth that was silvery and flowed over his hands like water.

"You are beautiful, you are." He said. "Clever, clever, boy." He waved the sonic screwdriver over it, it didn't make a sound, but it did read as alien technology. He continued to admire the fabric for several more minutes. He flipped through the journal next. The child's story was not a happy one.

He would have to dig deeper later, the child's trunk lay in the cupboard under the stairs. Carefully wrapping the journal in the fabric, he stuck both objects into a pocket of his coat and left the room in search of the trunk. The journal mentioned a cupboard under the stairs, that's where he headed next. Sure enough the trunk was there, with a quick scan it was deemed perfect safe. He was still unsure as to what had made the sonic screwdriver go haywire, as he wheeled the trunk out.

It was easy going back to the TARDIS; the trunk hardly weighed anything at all.

As he approached the blue police box, he snapped his fingers and the door to the TARDIS opened.

"You weren't gone long." Came a voice as The Doctor closed the door behind him.

"I've got your personal belongings." He waved at the trunk. The child's eyes grew wide.

"You shouldn't have. You didn't need to."

"I did. I believe these are yours as well." He pulled out the fabric wrapped journal. The child took them reverently. "What is that? I've ever seen anything like it before."

"This?" The younger Time Lord held up the fabric. "An invention of my parents. How did I know that? Awesome! Genetic memory. Anyway, it's an invisibility cloak." The child placed the journal on the control console, unfolded the cloak and swung it over himself. His body disappeared and his head still remaining seen.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" The elder said, sliding on his glasses and circling around the child.

The Doctor knew the body spasm was going to go through the child before he saw it. He caught the invisible arm and gently lowered the child back on to the chaise, whilst sliding the cloak off him.

"Take it easy, you're only three hours into your regeneration cycle. You aren't finished yet. You need, you need, you need…..Food! Yes! If you don't like something you used to, its 'new mouth, new rules.' I'm gonna have to remember that one!"

"As long as it's not fish fingers…..or custard." The child added.

"Don't be ridiculous! That's awful regeneration food. You'd have to be mad to mix the two. Well…" The Doctor made a strange face and the child couldn't help but laugh. "I'll be back with something, or things."

And sure enough, an hour later The Doctor swaggered in with his arms loaded with food.

"If you want anything cooked, you're going to have to do it yourself and no, you can't use my sonic screwdriver."

A dinging sound came from the quietly parked TARDIS. The Doctor dropped everything he was holding with a crunch and raced over to the console, flicking levers and pushing buttons. She sparked and whirred and dinged again. The Doctor leaned over and grabbed a blinking green lever. He pulled it and it popped out.

"Would you look at that?" It was a silver sonic screwdriver with a green light at the end and a wire curling around it to make a grip, very different from The Doctor's own. "She likes you already!" The Doctor stroked the console appreciatively with his free hand.

"Here." He handed the sonic screwdriver over to the child, who took it and wiggled it in front of the older Time Lord's face.

"It's nice but…"

"But what?" The Doctor looked offended that there was anything cooler than a sonic screwdriver. "Ah, yes. Food. I've got beans and gravy and bread and celery and chips. Oh, I love chips. And Almonds! Look!" He held up a package of the nuts before opening them and popping once in his mouth. "What else have I got here?"

The youngster had enough and snatched the almonds out of The Doctor's hand and bit into one. He chewed it indecisively before swallowing it and glaring at what was left of the offending nut.

"Well then, I suggest you try something else." The Doctor said, snatching back the bag.

It took a couple of tries but they finally found something that the younger Time Lord would eat: fish and chips.

"Child after my own hearts." The Doctor muttered amused, yet sad at the same time. "How long had you been hiding as a human?"

"Pretty much my entire life, my parents too. They had been hiding since they left the Academy. Something was chasing them and now chasing me. They were killed as humans nearly fifteen years ago and I wasn't able to look into the Untempored Schism until I was eleven. That was exciting. The daft headmaster of the boarding school I was attending didn't even know what it was. Light Lord my arse."

"What?"

"That's what he calls himself. He's nothing more than a manipulative old man with dilutions of grandeur. He knew that my parents and I were something different, something special. That old man tried everything to get me, us, under his thumb. But I had a friend that figured it all out.

"Oh beautiful, brilliant, loyal Hermione. Always one step ahead of the rest of us, a force of her own. I had another friend but he worked under that conniving old man. She was the one that figured out what was going on. This society we were part of, hidden amongst everyone else. They called themselves 'wizards'. It's not really magic, but technology. All stored in a piece of polished wood. Triggered with specific words and slightly psychic, all recorded in the Ministry they call a government. Bias and corrupt, beliefs so set in stone and technology so advanced it's been forgotten.

"When I was human I never really felt like I belonged and even when I was introduced to this 'magical world' something was still wrong. My brilliant Hermione figured it all out. We planned to elope. As a married couple we were granted adulthood, so if we skipped town no one would be any wiser. Her parents agreed whole heartedly. They never wanted her to go anyway. So anything to get her out of the situation, they gladly agreed to as long as they knew their daughter was safe and happy. That wise ass old man not only fooled with my life but hers too. That was the last mistake he was ever going to make.

"I promised her the stars, if, when, we got out. That was the thing with Hermione; there were two things that she loved most in the world, her books and her stars."

The Doctor hadn't taken his eyes off the child the entire time the child was speaking. The child rubbed his face tiredly. "She'll take forever to convince now, my best friend, even after all we've gone through."

"Would this help?" The Doctor asked, pulling out a thin stick of polished wood from a pocket in his jacket.

"Not really." The child took the stick, broke it in two and threw it across the TARDIS.

"Well then." He said, fully ending that part of the conversation. "Where do you want to go first? We have all of time and space. There's the newly refound Moon of Poosh and the Seas of Genali. Oh! The Forests of Xia, they're supposed to be in bloom soon." The Doctor bounced up and started weaving around the console, pushing buttons. The TARDIS started to whirl.

"Someplace with a wardrobe?"

Someplace? Someplace. With. A. Wardrobe. You have all of time and space! That is the most-"the Doctor stopped midsentence as his eyes fell upon the rags that he earlier noted that needed replacing. "Down the corridor, take the third left and keep going until you can't go any farther. Just make sure you find something that is appropriated for any era."

You doubt my fashion skills?"

"Looking like that? Yes."

"Fine then." The child replied as he ripped off the still damp sweatshirt and threw it at The Doctor, who then caught and threw it behind him.

"Go get dressed." The child stalked off.

Maybe there was time for one more adventure.

A/N: This story starts after the Planet of the Dead but before The Waters of Mars and The End of Time. I will, but not until much later, work them in. I know I threw a lot of information at you and much wasn't very clear but feel free to leave any questions in the review box.


	3. Academy on the Run

A/N: Theta or Thay – pronounced 'thā'. Xi – pronounced 'zī'. This fic also contains Classic Who tidbits. I don't own Harry Potter or Doctor Who. Sorry.

Chapter 2

Academy on the Run

Smoke billowed out of the main console. Both Time Lords coughed and tried to clear the air. The TARDIS was sparking and smoking.

"Make sure the extrapolator field is still running and the cardon matrix is set at zero."

"Got it! But the speld synthesizer is still wobbly."

"Don't worry about that." The older Time Lord shouted over the whizzing and the banging. The TARDIS lurched sideways and both flung themselves on to the console so they wouldn't go flying. A blue and a green light flashed and two sonic screwdrivers whirled.

"Where are we heading?"

The Doctor yanked the monitor screen around, "Forests of Gamma, 41st century." The TARDIS lurched again and the console sparked. "Come on, work!" He whacked a lever with one of the mallets.

"No, no, no." The TARDIS lurched one last time and both Time Lords fell into each other. Everything went quiet as the lights went out and the TARDIS groaned softly. They disentangled. The Doctor got straight back up and looked on the monitor.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Thay?" He turned to the child who called him by the shortened version of this Academy name 'Theta'. Their relationship had changed from mentor-student to more of a father-son one in the past ten years. Ten wonderful, brilliant years. He knew he was delaying the inevitable but it was worth it. The child was still here, never looking back, just like him. The child's personality was a bit more human than usual but it was the effect of growing up as a human, and the memories that came with it. It had been rough, that first year, but they had worked through it.

It had been quite easy to put the human persona of Harry Potter down once and for all, more for the show of the humans than anything else. The child was one step ahead of everyone else, even when he was human. Later, he admitted to The Doctor that it was easier not to attract attention if he didn't flaunt his intelligence. The child still had everything all set if he were to have died when he was still human and all the two of them had to do as put it into action.

It was a laugh watching the man the child called 'Idiot Manipulator' running around trying to fix everything. It was amusing during the will reading, watching the man's plans fall apart. With a mild perception filter and The Doctor being on good terms with the Goblins after saving their home planet, it was fairly simple. On the more serious side, it was good to know that the man no longer had his claws on the child. It was despicable that the man in charge of a whole community's children did that to a child. That was no way to treat a child, and he couldn't bear to see a child cry.

"Thay!"

"What?"

"Where are we?" The child gave him a sharp look and The Doctor rubbed his face. He had gotten lost again. He referred to the monitor again, nothing. He dashed to the door and opened it. They were in a cupboard.

"Let's test your knowledge. Where are we?" The Doctor stepped back and let the youngster have a look. He wasn't so young anymore. He had more knowledge of the universe that any other Time Lord his age would be jealous of. The child was almost ready to assume the name he had picked out for himself when he was eleven, almost ready to explore the universe himself. But The Doctor wasn't ready to let go just yet.

The twenty six year old Time Lord was not amused. The child had grown out his curls some over the last couple of years so now it looked more like a mop than anything else. He also wore a leather jacket, similar to the one The Doctor's last regeneration was so fond of, over a grey zip up sweatshirt and a navy tee that neither of them seemed to remember who it belonged to, or really cared for that matter. And a pair of denim trousers and black canvas trainers. The boy looked like he just stepped out of the 21st century. Which was all fine and dandy. Oh, how they had run.

"We are in a janitor's cupboard, Thay. Really?"

"What's outside of it?" The younger Time Lord rolled his eyes and opened the cupboard door. There were shelves among shelves of books. He bounced out and grabbed a book from the nearest shelf, examined it closely and then sniffed it.

"Xi, we haven't got all day." That was the younger Time Lord's nickname, he hadn't gained enough knowledge to earn his title yet.

"By the architecture, I would say it was late nineteenth century, but there is heating and electricity. The categorical system on these books suggests the Library of Congress and the state of them, early twenty first century. What are we doing here anyway? We've got our own library plus there's a planet called The Library."

"Ah, yes. The Library of Congress, of Washington D.C., America. The largest collection of rare books in North America and the world's largest archive of legal material, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings."

"But America. Why?"

"Who doesn't like America. Home of the brave. One of the superpowers of the Earth. Have I ever told you I met Benjamin Franklin? Brilliant man; nearly died. He meant to introduce me to Thomas Jefferson. We should put that on the list. Oh and Bach. Funny I haven't met many classical composers. Nine hundred years and I only even met a single one and that was Beethoven, not even Mozart. Welllll, Romana never really like him, he always came off as a bad mannered show off with a bad hair style."

"Thay!"

"Oh yes! Books! The greatest weapons anyone could possibly possess. I don't know, the TARDIS, she kind of just dumped us here…and we're going to find out why."

"At least we don't have to watch out for spoilers." Xi remarked, putting the book back on the bookshelf. "Because travelling with you would be like one big spoiler." He laughed. The Doctor didn't respond. Xi sighed.

"Let me help you like you helped me." This was true. The first year travelling together had been rough. Each had been battling their own demons and their own losses. Xi, himself was still struggling with the whole Time Lord thing as he grew up human. Tensions had been high and more than once the TARDIS had crash landed somewhere after a shouting match. They had worked through it though, but every so often the nightmares would come crawling back.

The Doctor just ran a hand through his hair and locked the TARDIS. "Look for anything unusual, alien life, artifacts, you name it." He hadn't really needed to say anything but they couldn't work well with that tension between them.

They searched the three floors of the library, inconspicuously scanning things. They found nothing.

"We might as well start questioning the locals." Xi suggested, after coming up with nothing. The Doctor agreed and Xi headed straight for Alien Sightings and History section. He knew if there was something amiss, that the people there would be more than willing to talk. It was relatively quiet for a late Thursday evening according to Xi's watch. The only person who was there was a young woman in her twenties with curly brown hair that reached down her back. Xi stopped short when he saw her, nearly causing The Doctor to run into him before pulling him back behind the bookshelves. The Doctor gave his younger counterpart a questioning look.

"Who is she?" All it took was one look at Xi's face before the message was clear to whom it was. "Oh. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive. If anyone noticed anything or knows anything it will be her." Xi turned to go around the bookshelf when the Doctor grabbed his upper arm. He looked back.

"Never ignore coincidence."

Xi approached where the young woman was standing, reading a book. He caught the title on it and approached the bookshelf. His finger traced against the spines of the books as he 'searched' for the one he needed. Drawing close to the woman, she seemed to sense his presence, looked up, gave him a small smile and stepped out of the way. He felt her eyes follow him as he continued to look for his 'missing' book. As his hand reached to spot where he knew the book would have rested if it were still there, he frowned and sighed frustrated. He heard her give a small chuckle and he turned towards her. She grinned at him and held up the book for him to see.

"Is this what you are looking for?"

"That would be the one."

"Any particular reason?" Xi raised an eyebrow.

"Now why would a pretty girl like you be interested in alien activity anyway?" The young woman smirked, and Xi caught the look on The Doctor's face on the other side of the bookshelf. The Doctor complained more than once how similar he was to Jack. Having never met Jack, the only comeback he had was, 'It worked when I was human.'

"I would say the same about you." She countered. "So what is it you're looking for?"

Xi crossed his arms and leaned against the bookshelf facing her. "The Legend of the Blue Box. You heard of it?"

A glazed look passed over the woman's eyes. "I have actually, that's what I have been researching. Shall we compare notes?"

"Sure."

"I'm Hermione, by the way. And you are?"

"Xi."

"Interesting name. Is it short for anything?"

"No, just Xi. Like the Greek letter."

"Fascinating. Anyway my things are over that way." She pointed down the rows to a table laden with book. He motioned her to lead on. She closed the book. Once her back was turned, The Doctor signaled he was going to look around some more.

Xi followed Hermione as she prattled away. It had been ten long years since he had seen her, and she thought him dead. Nothing much had changed about her and he was glad about that. He watched her rearrange her work station as she continued to talk away. She finally sat down and stopped for breath.

"I'm sorry. I must have been boring you. I used to have these two friends that would get on my case about it but…" she trailed off.

"It's alright. I found what you were saying interesting and found no need to interrupt." She smiled at him.

"So how about these notes?" He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the beaten blue journal. "How did you fit that in your pocket?"

"They're bigger on the inside." He placed the beaten blue journal on the table when a strange beeping sound could be heard. Xi fished around in his pocket again and pulled out a strange y-shaped instrument that was flashing and beeping. He tossed that onto the table as well before opening the jacket and pulling out a silver rod from the inside pocket. He held the rod in his fist and held down the end as the other end lit green and whirred. Hermione stood up and leaned across the table to get a better look.

"What's that?"

"A detector."

"What does it detect?"

"Non-terrestrial life forms."

"No, really?"

"Really. It also whirls and beeps when there's stuff."

"Very descriptive. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. So are you some type of alien hunter."

"Hunter, no. Finder, yes. Come on, work!" He flipped the gadget over and pointed the rod at it again.

"And that in your hand?"

"This?" he held it out for her to see. "A screwdriver."

She looked a doubtful. "A screwdriver?"

"Yes, that's what I said." Then he slammed the screwdriver down on the table. "I'm even trying to sound like him." Without waiting to be asked he jumped right into an explanation. "I have a friend, no, a mentor, I've been traveling with." He picked up the screwdriver again and twiddled with the detector. "I was so lost and alone and then he found me. We started running and we haven't stopped since and it's been wonderful."

The detector then started to beep more rapidly. "Gotcha." Then he stood up and pointed the device perpendicular to the rows of bookshelves. There was nothing there at first, but a few moments later The Doctor came sliding around the corner.

"What?" Xi asked no one in particular as he watched The Doctor fly down the corridor, his over coat billowing behind him before he skidded to a stop next to Xi. "You really need to get some better trainers."

"But I like my trainers! I had to get rid of one pair because they were soaked in Randium radiation." He caught sight of Hermione standing there. "Hello! I'm the Doctor!" A roar and a high pitched, rapid beeping distracted the two Time Lords for a moment before The Doctor turned to Hermione.

"Basically, Run!"


	4. Secrets of the Library

**A/N**: Holy fudge muffins! You all are awesome! And thank you for reading and inspiring me to update every (almost but more like every other) week, which is a real feat for me.

I don't own Harry Potter or Doctor Who, who, unfortunately, belong to their respective owners. It's a little National Treasure-esque. I didn't realize this until after I finished so I apologize in advance. Also they should be out of DC soon, I just wanted somewhere different. Also as you can tell (so far) there is no interaction with any Americans and I hope to keep it that way.

Questions? Comments? Observations? Encouragements? Ideas? Leave it in the review. Now on with the story!

Chapter 3

Secrets of the Library

And so they ran. Hermione kicked off her pumps and stashed them in her bag. Xi grabbed her hand and they followed the Doctor through the library. His hand was cooler than what she thought it would be and his pulse seemed to be racing double time.

"What are we running from?" Hermione called.

"No idea." The Doctor answered as they rounded another corner and up a staircase.

"We can head towards the music library. It's protected with bulletproof/fireproof glass." The two Time Lords skidded to a stop. The Doctor looked at Xi and then at Hermione.

"But that's brilliant. Won't do us much good but brilliant all the same."

"Told you." Hermione looked slightly confused as she watched the two men take off once again. She followed.

Three flights of stair and four locked doors sonic'd open later, the three of them found themselves in the music library laughing and slightly out of breath.

Hermione leaned heavily against one of the tables as she watched Xi and the Doctor converse quietly, neither seemingly as out of breath as she was, considering she was in good shape. She hadn't run that much in years. No since, well, not since Harry died. She sighed. She missed her best friend terribly even after all these years. After Harry died nothing seem the same. He had left her a heartbreaking but confusing letter, ultimately saying they might meet again and change wasn't such a bad thing.

The war the Order of the Phoenix was so worried about didn't happen. Dumbledore himself ended up defeating Voldemort and the said 'Dark Lord' was nothing more than a minor threat now sitting in Azkaban. With Albus Dumbledore's presence now back in the good books of all wizard kind, she skipped town on her birthday, having been seventeen and had already taken her O.W.L.s. Neville had also left, electing to continue his education at home. The two youngest Weasleys were firmly in the Headmaster's ranks and Luna had been accepted to an International School in New Zealand. It had all fallen apart and she had just been drifting for the last decade, not really doing anything. She had worked in a small bookshop for the last couple of years and now was interning at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in America. She had gotten out and crossed the pond. Just like she and Harry always planned to do.

It wasn't quite as exciting as she hoped but it had gotten her out of Magical Britain.

"Hermione." She looked up, snapped out of her thought as the man who called himself 'The Doctor' addressed her.

"My friend tells me you were looking into recent alien activity and other odd happenings."

"Yes, mostly the Legend of the Blue Box. But other odd things have been happening as well. Like the spaceship over London last Christmas, the metal ghosts, bees disappearing…"

"No, no, something more localized. The bee problem has already been dealt with." Hermione gave the Doctor a strange look.

"Yeah, artifacts have gone missing, nothing very important but frequently enough that people are starting to notice."

"What kind of items? Books, documents, paintings, metal objects?"

"Mostly books and journals. Why?"

"Which species thrive on knowledge?" The Doctor asked turning to Xi.

"Time Lords, Candorian, Explosi, Karinair, Tufi, Xaniar."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, and no."

"I only named six."

"What else do we know?"

Hermione put her two cents in, "They seem to be collectors of some sort, and they roar."

"Yes, yes, but what else? I'm missing something here. Is there anything else, anything at all?"

Hermione furrowed her brow, deep in thought. "There were-" she mutter.

"What?"

"I don't know. This illness, maybe. It was striking a few of the higher levels at the museum I'm interning at. They would go home early one day, with a dreadful headache and the next day they would return, acting oddly but claiming they were fine. The day after that it was like nothing ever happened."

"Which museum is this happening at?"

"Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum." Xi grinned wildly, as though it was some private joke.

She could see the gears in the Doctor's head turning and the information flash across his eyes. Almost exactly like Harry, she mused. He would get the same look whenever he was trying to solve some sort of problem or puzzle. She had never seen that look on anyone else, until now.

"I've got it!" The Doctor shouted after a few moments of silence making both Hermione and Xi jump. "The Coltrains, from the planet Sirafigurourosocoltrain, in the Nimbus Nebula. They scavenge the universe for information on planets and their history of space travel. But what are they doing here? Earth only a level five, still just barely on the edge of space exploration. Give the humans a hundred more years and you're golden. But why now?"

"So they're like historians?" Hermione asked.

"More like pirates, really."

"Pirates? Alien Pirates?" The Doctor gave her a look that clearly said 'yes'. "I don't believe you." She crossed her arms.

"Well then, I'll just be off. Tracking down aliens, getting lost, running…You coming, Xi?"

"Of course!"

"It was very nice meeting you Hermione Granger. Allons-y!"

With that the man called The Doctor threw open the door and practically skipped out, not that he actually did, but she was surprised he didn't. Xi followed close behind, but paused for a moment at the door before turning around.

"It was nice seeing you again." He said with a soft smile.

"What?" she replied, slightly confused.

But before Xi could reply, the Doctor's voice could be heard. "Xi! What part of Allons-y don't you get?"

"The French part!" Xi called back, he flashed her a smile and was gone before she could blink. Leaving one Hermione Granger stunned and confused, in the middle of the music library. She heard the roar from the unknown alien, echoing through the corridors and the shouts and laughter of the two men. She huffed and rolled her eyes before pushing herself off the table.

"Boys will be boys."

She grabbed her bag and raced after them. Who was she to say no to another adventure and the thrill of a mystery? She finally caught up with them in a service stairwell, but she hadn't caught sight of the monster, no alien, no Coltrain. Then again she had no idea what she was keeping an eye out for, but what she did find were the two boys doubled over laughing.

"I'm surprised you two haven't gotten into any deeper trouble. And since you two dragged me into this mess, I'm not letting either of you out of my sight."

"Your choice." replied The Doctor.

"Says one of the two aliens." Hermione snapped, tapping her foot. Surprise flashed across the Doctor's face at how fast she had figured it out. Xi just smiled.

"I'm clever and I pay attention." She said. "And anyone flashing technology around like that has nothing to do with any of the governments." She watched their faces. The Doctor's looked fairly impressed, but what threw her was the look of pride on Xi's face. Out of the two of them she found the Doctor easiest to read but Xi was a mystery to her. "But everyone has their secrets."

A smirk slowly spread across Xi's face. What had she missed?

"Says the witch."

She gaped at him and her eyes grew wide. "H-how did you know?"

"Because I'm clever."

"B-but."

"I can't tell you. Not yet anyway."

Hermione huffed at him.

"You can fight later. Right now we have to figure out what the Coltrain want." The Doctor gave both of them a pointed look and Hermione turned her back to Xi and extracted her willow wand from her bag. The Doctor led them down the staircase, pausing every so often to scan things with his sonic screwdriver and Xi following not far behind, scanning the opposite side. Hermione was completely ignoring Xi and was gripping her wand with white knuckles, deciding whether or not it was worth hexing him. He definitely deserved it, but that little voice in the back of her mind was telling her not to, but that didn't keep her from gripping her wand any less.

The underground tunnel leading from The Jefferson building of the library to The Madison building, echoed with their footsteps and the whirring of the two sonic screwdrivers.

"_The Library of Congress will be closing in fifteen minutes. Please place all un-cataloged books on one of the re-shelving carts and make sure you have all of your belongings. Thank you for visiting the Nation's Capital."_ A sickly sweet woman's voice said over the intercom system.

"Thay!" yelled Xi over the intercom. "I found something! Or, at least, I think I did."

The Doctor turned to Xi and they both examined a brick in the wall. It was half way between the two buildings. Hermione could see nothing out of the ordinary about it. Obviously, there was something special about it, as she watched them poke and scan it with their sonic screwdrivers.

"What do you think it is?" She asked.

"Some sort of homing beacon," The Doctor replied, not looking up. "But what would it be doing here? What are you doing here?" He said the last part more to the brick than to Hermione. He and Xi switched places gracefully, without even a glance at the other and slipped his glasses on to the bridge of his nose. They continued to scrutinize the brick for a few more minutes, the Doctor muttering scientific sounding things under his breath.

She was about to say something when the Doctor let out a sound of victory and the brick slid out of the wall. "Ha HA! Look at you. Oh, aren't you something?"

The brick, in fact, was just a brick. It was what was _in_ the brick. The back of the brick was hollowed out and a strange 'x' –shaped, flashing object was nestled inside it.

The Doctor disabled it and stuck it in his pocket. Xi slid the empty brick back into the wall.

"That'll do for now. It'll keep the rest of them confused for a while before they realize what happened. Should buy us some time, but this gizmo tell us what's going on." The Doctor and Xi exchanged a quick look.

"And what would that be?" Hermione asked.

"You said you were researching The Legend of the Blue Box, yes? And the documents that went missing, they all contained stories of it?"

"Yes," Hermione replied slowly.

"Just that, it summons the Blue Box."

"No. Can't be."

"How long have you believed in aliens or 'magic' for that matter?"

"Since I was thirteen."

"Then how is this any different?"

"I don't…" A grin spread across the Doctor's face.

"We are about to go into the hornet's nest."

With that he flew back up the tunnel the way they had come, leaving Hermione and Xi in the dust. Xi leaned casually against the wall of the tunnel, crossing his arms, in wait.

"Shouldn't we be following him?" Hermione asked.

"No," Xi glanced at his watch. "5…4…3…2…1…"

_VWORP VWORP VWORP VWORP_

A large blue Police Public Call Box materialized in the middle of the tunnel meters away from where Xi was standing.

"Is that?" Hermione squeaked out.

"Yup."

"But it's only a legend."

"A lot of things are only legends."

By this time the Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS and poked his head out. "Are you two coming? Or should I just leave you?"

Hermione gapped at the man. "Really?"

"Why not?"

She looked over at Xi who shrugged. "He's asking you."

Still not believing either one of them Hermione made her way into the TARDIS.

"Welcome to my TARDIS, Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Anywhere, anytime."

"Impressive." She nodded approvingly as she looked around. The Doctor's face fell slightly and Xi, who followed Hermione in, laughed.

"Shut up." The Doctor said.

"What?" Hermione inquired.

"You didn't say the right thing." Xi told her.

"What was I supposed to say?"

"You were supposed to look around in awe and say 'It's bigger on the inside'."

"That's stupid. How could it be anything else? Remember: Witch." She pointed to herself.

The Doctor muttered unhappily from the other side of the controls, something about spoiling his fun. Xi shook his head and perched on the captain's seat as Hermione watched the Doctor flicked switches and pull levers.

"We should be able to travel from place to place now that I've disabled the homing device, that's what attracted the TARDIS earlier, but we can't leave this relative time until I've got this all sorted out. Now hold on." The Doctor hit a button and the TARDIS lurched in motion. Hermione grabbed the hand rail just in time, as the Doctor fell back with Xi in the chair.

And with identical cheeky grins from both Xi and the Doctor, the Doctor said to Hermione. "Welcome aboard."


	5. Air, Space, Time, Place

**A/N**: My dearest, fantastically loyal readers, you have made my heart jump for joy. *Smiles* And hello to any new readers. I welcome you all to my baby. It's a little silly but hopefully worthwhile. From trips to Peru and Florida things have been a little crazy, but for the wait you get new chapter and more frequent updates!

I don't own Doctor Who or Harry Potter.

All reviews of any type are magical! Thank you!

Chapter 4

Air, Space, Time and Place

The TARDIS landed with a rackety _VWORP_ and a bang, sending all three of her passengers to the grated floor.

"Well that was something." Hermione remarked from her place on the floor. "What did that accomplish?" 

"Her ion energy is still wobbly." The Doctor remarked rolling up off the floor, "so that takeoff and landing was a little rougher than usual." 

Xi was still flat on his back, his curly hair splayed out, half covering his face, an arm lay over his eyes and he looked to have no intentions of getting up anytime soon. "Don't listen to him; it's the same every time." 

"I would like you to know that I do know how to fly _MY_ TARDIS."

"Says he who failed his driver's test."

"You don't even know how to fly it."

"That's because you won't teach me." The Doctor humpfed, threw open the doors and strolled out. There was an audible 'oof' and a sarcastic laugh. By this time, Hermione was on her feet and peering curiously out the open TARDIS door.

"Doctor? You alright?" She asked.

There was a grumble that neither Hermione nor Xi, from his place on the floor, could decipher. Xi rolled over onto his stomach and propped his head on his hands. More grumbling could be heard outside and Hermione shot Xi a worried look. Xi just rolled his eyes in response.

"Xi!" she scolded him.

"Fine." He got up off the floor and ran out of the TARDIS, Hermione hot on his heels.

They had landed in the middle of the floor room displaying various airplanes through time and the setting sun reflecting off the metallic surfaces. The Lunar Lander stood proudly in the fading light to the east. It was truly a sight to behold.

"Space travel, the pinnacle of human ingenuity. Fascinating, isn't it. It took humans thousands of years to go from the wheel to the car but only fifty to go from the car to the moon and from there all of space. Indomitable humans, all with their single hearts and endless ambition. They'll have empires stretching across the universe and surviving to the end of time itself." The Doctor said, leaning against a railing sanctioning off a cluster of rockets, hands deep in his pockets. "And seeing things they shouldn't." He said exasperated, extracting one hand and waving at the TARDIS. "Her perception filter is down and anyone who looks in those windows is going to see her. Not to mention the night guards." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Maybe they'll think it's a joke." Hermione suggested. The Doctor just looked at her. "…Or not. Shouldn't a space craft like this have a cloaking device or an invisibility switch or something?"

"Or something…You should really get that chameleon circuit fixed."

"It works fine." Was the retort, "she just chooses to be a 1960's police box and who am I to change that. Besides I like it." Hermione heard Xi mumble something suspiciously like 'sentimental old man', it sounded like an old argument.

She sighed. "We're burning up the sun here. Do you even know where to find these 'Coltrain'?"

The Doctor gave her a sideways glance.

"In the history of space travel, of course." And he went bounding off down the corridor with Xi close at his heels. Hermione reflected on the situation before her and came to the realization that this might just be what the two aliens did every day of their lives. She wasn't even sure how long they had been at it. Xi looked no more than twenty and the Doctor was definitely _much_ older than he looked.

Aliens. It still sounded so foreign to her even if she had spent over half her life researching and looking at the stars, but being here with not just one but TWO aliens and searching down a third was slightly mind boggling and put all her knowledge of space to shame.

She raced after them still in her bare feet.

They had slowed to wait for her and as she approached she but her hands on her hips. "Ok, before we go wandering into this dangerous situation, I want to know EXACTLY who you two are. I have walked into dangerous situations before and I have walked with strangers, but I never, ever walk with strangers into dangerous situation. You two are aliens, I get that and there are probably inter-species regulations and intergalactic treaties and things, but who exactly are you?"

The Doctor and Xi looked at each other.

"The last of the Time Lords. At least I am. Xi, not so much."

"Hey!"

"Welllll, more of a Time Tot really." Xi just scowled. "Anyway, we've got a much bigger problem and we can sort out the domestics later." Hermione didn't look too thrilled. "Come on!"

It didn't take that long to find their destinations, all they had to do was follow the various growling noises through the exhibits. The Doctor put his arm up to stop the two of them from approaching the area any closer.

"Are they hostile? I mean they are pirating aliens." Hermione asked

"No, all they do is growl a bit. Ok, fine, more than a bit. Let me go first though and don't wander off." And before the Doctor even finished with that sentence he had stepped out of their hiding place, hands jammed deep in to the pockets of his pinstriped pants.

"Hello there!" he called out a large grin on his face. From where she and Xi were at Hermione couldn't get a good look at what they were facing. There was a loud growl and then she heard a gruff voice answer back.

"Intruder! Hold him!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Just wait, wait a tic. All I want to know is what exactly you all are after. You are Coltrains, pirates if you will and your treasure is knowledge. So why are you all here, on a level 5 planet, they don't even know we exist, let alone have the proper technology?"

"Resources, ship crashed." The Coltrain grunted.

"Oh! You're just looking for someone to help you. You did your research well, I can tell you that. I'm the Doctor by the way, the man with the blue box."

"Help us spaceman."

"Haven't been called that in a while but yes, right, of course. Um, just to be clear, where is your ship?"

There was a bunch of grunting but nothing Hermione could make out, she guessed that the Coltrain may have pointed.

"Hermione," Came the urgent whisper. She looked from where the sound came from and saw Xi standing behind a rocket, motioning her to follow. She shook her head and he crossed his arms. 'Really?' she mouthed and Xi nodded frantically. Hermione huffed, unfortunately calling the attention of the Coltrains and a grey creature grabbed her by the arm. To her surprise the Coltrains weren't very tall at all, but very strong.

"Doctor! Get them to let go!" she yelled, struggling to break free from the strong grip.

"Hermione just relax, and was Xi with you?"

"No." Xi's voice came from the other side of Hermione. He was standing there with his arms still crossed but the Coltrain had a hand on his shoulder. Hermione ceased struggling.

"Associates?" Grumbled the Coultrain, this one didn't have a hold on anyone and seemed to be the one in charge.

"Yes, exactly. Associates or companions if you will."

"Spacepeople?"

"Time Lord, Time Tot, Human." The Doctor pointed at himself, Xi, and Hermione. Xi just glared at the

Doctor. "Now your ship?"

The Coltrain in charge motioned for the two others and Xi and Hermione were released. The three of them then followed the three stranded Coltrains. It didn't take very long to reach the destination which was an out of order men's bathroom and the Doctor promptly went to work. Hermione grabbed hold of Xi's arm, wrapped it in a hug and rested her head on his shoulder.

Every so often noises of victory or discouragement came from the craft as the Doctor fixed something or found something else wrong.

After about an hour, the Doctor's voice drifted up out of the ship "Shouldn't be long now." Followed by a celebratory 'HA! Oh, yes!' and then a frantic set of annoyed, ethereal syllables that Hermione was quite sure were not English or any other known language for that matter. This sent Xi into peals of laughter and the Doctor's head appeared over the top of the ship. The Doctor glared at Xi over his glasses and pointed the sonic screwdriver at him, "I don't ever want to hear those words come out of your mouth. Got it?"

"Yes, Theta." replied Xi through his laughter. The Doctor disappeared back under the ship.

Once he was done he stood up and straightened out his pants.

"I did as much as I could and you should be able to at least get out to Galaxy 10 before you need to take it to a real mechanic. Oh! This is yours as well; just make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." The Doctor handed the x-shaped homing device back to the Coltrains, who gave a grateful grunt before boarding their ship.

The two Time Lords and one human stepped back as smoke emerged from the ship and it was gone in a flash.

The TARDIS landed in the corner of Hermione's apartment and her three occupants stepped out. The room was quite sparse, like she didn't spend a lot of time there.

"It's not much but its home." She said, throwing her bag onto the bed. "Would you like a cuppa?"

Not waiting for an answer, she left the bedroom and put on the pot for tea. The two Time Lords followed, Xi more slowly. He saw the walls filled with posters of space, stars and nebulas and a dated photo of her and her parents sitting on the nightstand.

"Xi!"

"Coming!"

Hermione had finished making tea and handed him a mug.

"I wasn't sure how you take it, so I just added milk and sugar."

"That's fine; I usually add sugar and a splash of lemon." She blinked at him and turned away. The Doctor was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed and turned down Hermione when she offered him a cup. Xi noticed a photo sitting on an end table. He wandered over and picked it up.

"That was my best friend Harry." Hermione said, cradling her cup in both hands and wandering over.

"He died ten years ago, he was just barely sixteen. People used to think we were twins because we hardly did anything without the other. We had planned on running away and travelling, he had promised me if we got out of the tight situation we were in, then we would travel to find the best place in the world to gaze up at the stars. I think it was just the adventure he was looking for, he always seemed to have a kind of wanderlust about him and trouble always seemed to follow in his wake." She trailed off, silently gazing at the picture.

"Come with us." The Doctor said breaking the silence. Hermione looked at him. "Anywhere and any when." She looked conflicted for a moment and her gaze lingered on photo. After what seemed like a slight internal debate, a smile stretched over her features.

"Sure. I'll love too."


	6. Hermione Travels in Time

**A/N: **You all are great! Sorry about taking so long, I have been dealing with some major health issues lately and updating has been the last thing on my mind. I have _NOT_, I repeat,_ NOT_, abandoned this as I have copious amounts of notes and ideas… so please, bear with me.

-Also you might want to go back and reread some of the previous chapters, they have been spruced up and some major canonical errors have been seen to.

Technically speaking Xi is still a teenager and will act as so.

I don't own Harry Potter or Doctor Who, sorry.

Chapter 6

Hermione Travels in Time

The TARDIS was amazing. First of all her room was a relaxing mixture of browns and blues, but the ship its self was nothing like she had ever seen before. It was like there was an unlimited extension charm around the entire place and the rooms liked to move around. It reminded her somewhat of Hogwarts, minus ghosts and stone walls. She managed to find her way back to the console room after dropping her things off and putting on a pair of flats. She quickly noted that her room was across from Xi's, but wasn't sure if it was going to stay that way.

The Doctor was already flitting around the console and Xi was close at hand, flicking switches and pushing buttons as was needed. When the Doctor saw Hermione he grinned at her.

"So where do you want to go first?"

"Anywhere?"

"Anywhere." The entire universe was at her disposal. "But keep in mind that there are rules to time travel. One, you are not allowed to cross your own time stream; Two, you are not allowed to cross into already established events; C, it has to be somewhere amazing."

The rules made sense. And she took a minute to try and figure out where they should go.

"Is there a random setting?" she asked. A grin spread over both the aliens' faces, full of mischief and happiness.

"I like you, Hermione Granger." With that said the Doctor pulled down a large lever and the entire TARDIS shook. The three of them hung on the console as they zipped through the Time Vortex, before landing with the familiar sound of the TARDIS and a soft thump. It was mere few seconds between landing and the Doctor and Xi racing to the door. They seemed to have a quick squabble over who should open the door and expectantly turned to Hermione.

She rolled her eyes at the two of them, wondering if this was going to be an ongoing thing and opened the TARDIS doors.

They landed in an alley and down at the end opened up to the main street, but it wasn't a street it was a canal. People passed over the bridge going on with their day to day business.

"Wow." Hermione breathed, stepping out of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Xi weren't too far behind. "This is absolutely amazing. Where are we?"

Venice, Italy: Summer of 1787." The Doctor replied. She looked at him, brown eyes wide.

"Oh my god! I can't go around looking like this." She said, indicating her clothes. "They'll arrest me for sure! I don't suppose you have anything?"

"Actually, there's a wardrobe in the TARDIS, it should have clothes for this period."

Hermione thanked him and grabbed Xi by the wrist, hauling him behind her insisting that he show her the way around the TARDIS. Xi looked back at the Doctor with an expression that clearly said _help me_. The Doctor returned it with one that said _she's your friend_.

"I'll be-" The Doctor pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, towards the canal. Xi just waved him off. Fifteen minutes later Xi and Hermione emerged from the TARDIS, Hermione in full 18th century garb.

"This is absolutely amazing!" She exclaimed, once they got swept up in the crown going over the bridge. The people, the sights, the smells, it was all new and amazing. "I've time travelled before, but it wasn't to this extent. Maybe a couple of hours back. Anything longer is supposed to be considered impossible." Xi gave a noncommittal sound.

"Where do you want to go first?"

"Where can we go?"

Xi shrugged, "I can only tell you where and when we are. It's the Doctor's forte to know where all the excitement is. I can tell you though that we can go anywhere. I nicked the Doctor's psychic paper." He pulled out a flat black wallet and wiggled it between his thumb and index finger.

"Psychic paper?"

"Let's just say that it's a universal VIP ticket. So milady, would you accompany me for a stroll?" Xi extended his arm to Hermione.

"Of course, my good sir." She replied taking it.

They wandered the streets and canals staying within close range of the TARDIS, looking at various things along the way. Xi stopped in his tracks not far from where they had just stopped to look over a bridge.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Hermione inquired. Xi frowned. At first Hermione couldn't hear anything over the hustle and bustle of people and the gentle slapping of water. Then she heard it, someone was playing the same melody over and over again, as if trying to figure out where they wanted to go with it. Xi grinned. She raised an eyebrow.

"You know what it is, don't you?"

"You want to check it out?"

"Of course!" Xi led the way, weaving in and out of people at breakneck speed. Hermione was having a hard time keeping up even though Xi had a hold on her hand. It wasn't long before they came to a halt in front of a slightly unkempt building. The music was louder and was drifting out of one of the open windows. They open the door and went up the stairs following the music.

They knocked on the door at the top of the stairs and a familiar voice chirped, "I got it!" The door flew open and the Doctor stood in the door way.

"Xi! There you are. I was wondering where you and Hermione had gotten off to." He ushered them into the flat. "I want you to meet Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart and young Ludwig van Beethoven. Mozart, Ludwig; Xi and Hermione."

Xi shook hands with the two gentlemen and in turn the two men laid a kiss on Hermione's hand as she held her hand out.

"It is wonderful meeting you. Were you the one we could hear playing down by the canals?" Hermione asked.

"It certain was, my dear lady. Did you enjoy what you heard?" Mozart asked.

"I did, but was there a reason why you kept repeating a certain section?"

"That is the question isn't it. My friend, The Doctor, inquired the same and Ludwig and I are at a loss. It was such a beautiful piece. Hopefully, you can figure it out."

Both Xi and Hermione looked at the Doctor who looked intrigued at the idea.

"I don't see why we can't take a look." The Doctor finally said. "I have a couple ideas already. Do you mind?" He asked pointing to the harpsichord.

"Not at all."

The Doctor quickly fiddled away with the harpsichord, his fingers flying over the keys. The eyes of both musicians widened as they watched their new found friend play. To their surprise however the piece just stopped in the middle and surprise was apparent on the Doctor's face. He tried replaying the same section again and once again it stopped. The keys were still being pressed and upon further inspection the pins were hitting the strings but no sound was coming out. They watched the strings vibrate as no sound came out. It was really a wonder of physics.

"So what is the diagnosis, Doctor?"

"Welllllll, it's not your harpsichord. That's for sure." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and ran it over the instrument. "Definitely not your harpsichord."

"What's that?" Ludwig asked, eyeing the silver rod in the Doctor's hand.

"It's a screwdriver." Ludwig made a disbelieving face, but let it slide. "Now, I have a couple ideas as to what this could be."

There was silence.

"And your ideas are?" Mozart pushed.

The Doctor blinked owlishly at him. "Xi. What are they?"

Xi frowned. "Audions, Vibrimenies, Sonares, Clamorers, and …the…. Waveewavee, I think."

"Good, you just missed the Strvarians. Now have you noticed anything else unusual?"

"There was that problem in the concert hall." Mozart supplied.

Both Time Lords looked at each other.

"Come on Hermione!" The Doctor called as he and Xi ran out of the flat. The two composers looked at the left behind human companion. She just shrugged.

"When in doubt…..follow."

The five of them found themselves on the stage of the concert hall. Hermione looked around in awe.

"She's a beauty isn't she?" Mozart said coming up behind her.

"Yeah." They stood there admiring the work of art as behind them The Doctor, Xi and Ludwig were arguing with the Hall owner. The sound of their voices carried through the whole hall and Hermione would swear she could almost see it. In a huff, The Doctor came over to her and Mozart, Xi and Ludwig following not far behind, having a conversation of their own.

"Well," The Doctor started, "We have an hour. Better start looking."

"If I could so boldly ask, what exactly are we looking for?" Ludwig asked.

"Anything that doesn't make sense!" The Doctor called from the other side of the stage, before jumping off and running through the audience, leaving this four companions standing on the stage.

"We should get started." Xi encouraged and the others agreed. They split up.

Carefully, Hermione approached the apron, adjusted her skirts and sat down on the edge. She reflected in the beauty of the place, the time, she was in. It was magical and reminded her of the musical 'Phantom of the Opera'

She watched as the four men ran around looking for anything unusual, well, none of them really looked like they were looking too hard. Ludwig and Mozart were wondering around and peeking behind curtains with confused looks on their faces. Xi and The Doctor were up in the boxes trying to sonic each other. She chuckled at their childish antics and the fact that they were getting absolutely nothing productive done. She signed and jumped off the apron, landing gracefully in the orchestra pit below.

Now where did those two composers go off to?

A flash of movement caught her attention. Ludwig and Mozart were both jumping up and down, waving their arms trying to catch her attention.

"What's going on?" she called but, but they didn't seem to hear her. She went over to them and Ludwig stepped forward.

"I think I found it." He said, grinning triumphantly. "Listen." He began singing a simple arpeggio. As he stepped backwards the sound was cut off but his lips were still moving and when he stepped forward again his voice rang loud and true a couple of notes higher along the scale. "See!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no. Stop! Don't do that!" The Doctor came running, from the balcony on the opposite side of the concert hall that Hermione last saw him. She was about to ask how he did that before she realized she didn't want to know.

Ludwig frowned as The Doctor pulled him and Mozart away from the silenced area and behind him. The grim expression on his face scared them.

"Doctor, what's wrong, what is it?" Hermione asked.

"We need to get out of here. It shouldn't be here. I got rid of it."

"Got rid of what, Doctor?"

"The Hush."

The three humans looked at him.

"It's a weapon, a silence, the end of all things." He rubbed his face with his hands, "Somebody must have listened to that tape." He looked around. "Where's Xi?"

Everyone looked around for the young Time Lord.

"XI!" The Doctor called out, running to the edge of the stage. "XI!"

The only response was silence. Absolute silence. The Hush was on the move.


	7. Maybe Something More

THIS IS THE NEW CHAPTER YOU THOUGHT IT WAS! JUST AN UPDATED VERSION OF IT!

A/N: I just want to start off publically apologizing for my behavior to one of my reviewers when I pm-ed them back explaining something. It was not my intention to be rude. I am just highly defensive of my writing and very, very, _very_ proper when I have to interact with people to cover up my awkwardness.

I am a really nice person, honestly, but as the age old saying goes, 'they are just words on a page and up to the reader to decipher them'.

A/N2: Three things- One thank you to the guest who reviewed this morning (4/23) as I it gave me the push I needed to finish this chapter. Two-This chapter was brought to you between working on two research papers and running a fraternity. Three – As you can tell I happen to go on rather long hiatuses. But this fic will never be abandoned. I still put a lot of work into even if you can't see it. I tend to work on it non linearly so closer to the end there is a possibility for more frequent updates, but that is still far in the future. So enjoy and don't forget to R&R.

Chapter 7

Maybe Something More

He paced swiftly back and forth, running his hands through his hair resulting in it sticking up more wildly than usual. Hermione sat on a chair absently picking at a loose thread on her skirt. Ludwig was scratching away on a piece of paper with a quill and Mozart rested his head on his hands, watching The Doctor's progress.

"We need a plan." Ludwig said, not looking up from what he was doing, breaking the tense silence that engulfed them since Xi disappeared. Hermione looked up from her skirts and observed The Doctor for a moment, his face was set and his eyes glittered dangerously, he was determined.

"You want a plan? I'll give you a plan." The Doctor grabbed one of the nearby chairs and pulled it underneath him, backwards. "Save Xi. Defeat The Hush, again."

"You care for your child greatly." Mozart said, fixing The Doctor with a hard look.

"He's not…. I'm not…" The Doctor protested briefly before his attention was diverted by a servant pulling a cart of chairs on to the stage. "Is there a concert tonight?"

"There is. It is big but not grand." Mozart told him. The Doctor nodded knowingly.

"How are you going to catch it, The Hush?" Hermione asked. "You said something about a tape earlier." Mozart and Ludwig perked up curiously.

"Pirate Radio. I sunk the ship back in the early sixties. I caught The Hush on a tape reel. What time is the concert supposed to start?"

Mozart checked his pocket watch. "About an hour and a half."

The Doctor nodded, "Right. I need a hand crank, wax, rope and a needle or something sharp. Meet back here in an hour. I'm going to find Xi. Hermione stay with Mozart and Ludwig."

Hermione seemed a bit put out at getting left behind but didn't argue. The three humans were left to distribute the items between them.

oOo

It was black and silent. More silent than the quietest silence and blacker than the blackest black.

He didn't know where he was. Slowly, his heartrates started rising as panic settled in. It wouldn't due to have a full blown panic attack and he silently berated himself. He wasn't some simpering human, was he? It was hard to tell sometimes where the mentality of Harry ended and Xi started. Harry was a clever, albeit abused human, emotionally stunted, afraid of the dark and highly dependent on whoever gave him a kind word. Whereas Xi was a genius, Time Lord, witty, captain of the innuendo squad and independent. On any given day he was anywhere on the scale.

Right now he was Harry.

Think. Think, think, think, think, think. He chanted quietly, tapping the sides of his temple with his fingers. What would The Doctor always do? Xi took a deep breath.

_What can you hear?_ Xi heard the question in his head in The Doctor's voice. What could he hear? Nothing. No, wrong. He could hear his own breathing and hearts beating.

There was a steady drip, drip, drip behind him and a faint tapping sound.

_What can you smell?_ There was a musty smell, stagnant water on stones.

_What can you see?_ There was the tiniest pin prick of light three meters up and to the right.

_What can you taste?_ There was the stale air and mold, a sliver of metal, and was that wood?

_What can you feel?_ There was a presence above him, he could tell. Reaching out he could feel the damp stones under his fingertips. Turning, he dragged his hands along the wall. It was small space, deep underground, too small for his liking.

Xi immediately regretted finding out how small the room he was in. He managed to head off the panic but now walls started closing in and small sob escaped his lips. Fingers finding a door handle he pulled. It wouldn't budge. He pushed. Still nothing. His breathing became more ragged as he fumbled for his sonic.

His hands trembled as he tried to find the setting he needed. After almost dropping it twice in his growing panic, he found it. Pointing the sonic screwdriver at the door, it whirled and whirled. Nothing was happening. Xi felt all around the door. Wood. All of it.

Then it clicked. The light. He could sonic the stone in the walls so that they would crack and crumble. Trying another setting he pointed his shaking arm at the small light. This was going to take a while.

oOo

The Doctor wasn't quite sure what to make of the building. He managed to navigate his way through the increasing crowd of stage hands getting ready for the concert, back into the depths of backstage. He could feel that Xi was in the building. It was an inherent ability that Time Lords are able to sense each other telepathically and at close enough proximity to communicate.

After questioning a few of the stagehands, The Doctor once again found himself at a deadend. Xi was here, he could feel it. But where was here? Not even the sonic screwdriver was picking up anything. He signed and headed back to the humans.

To his surprise, Hermione was sitting on the floor, wand tucked behind her ear, building something. He got closer and realized it was the cylindrical wax recorder that he himself had planned to build.

He ran up to her, a radiant grin spread on his face, "Hermione Granger, you are absolutely brilliant!"

She looked up from her work and smiled back, tucking her hair behind her ear. " Thank you."

The Doctor sits down next to her to help her complete the project.

"Did you find Xi?" She asked tentatively. The Doctor scratched the back of his head, shoulders slumping.

"He is here somewhere. But I know that once we get rid of the Hush it will be much easier to find him. Xi I knowledgeable enough to fend for himself for the most part. I'm just worried how this is going to affect him."

Hermione cocked her head in curiosity and handed him a stick of wax to sonic. The Doctor didn't respond, he was too focused on his work.

With a vibrant 'Aha!' The Doctor held up the finished product, a perfect replica of Thomas Edison's Cylindrical Wax Recorder. "Brilliant! If I do say so myself. Now I just need somewhere to set it up. Preferably not on the stage. They look ready to chase us off with torches and pitchforks. Any ideas?"

"I think I know just the place!" The Time Lord and his companion turned to look at Ludwig and Mozart, who were smiling back triumphantly.

"I got one of the Boxes as a late gift and I haven't had the chance to use it yet," Explained Mozart, leading the way up the set of stairs, "I have been busy composing and conducting like I will do tonight so it is just going to have to be Ludwig there with you. I'm very sad that I am going to have to miss it."

"Nah. You are going to be in the think of it. Standing on stage, surrounded by people and their instruments. The air pliable with anticipation. You raise your baton and time freezes. I don't think you are going to miss a thing."

Mozart gave The Doctor a strange look after he finished talking and at his 'what I didn't do anything' face. Ludwig frowned, looking contemplative. They finally reached the door to Mozart's Box and Hermione let out a soft gasp before starting to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" The Doctor asked his human companion.

"The thing is," Hermione replied, "I have been comparing this Hall to the Paris Opera House since I got here. And lo and behold we end up in Box 5 of all places."

"Oh yes, The Phantom of the Opera. Good book, slightly creepy in places, doesn't really account for what actually happened."

Hermione gaped at him, "What do you mean what actually happened?"

They had entered the Box and Ludwig settled down on one of the chairs and was listening attentively to The Doctor and Hermione's conversation as The Doctor set up the recording device. Mozart had already bid Ludwig good bye and slipped out quietly.

"Welllllll. First of all there really wasn't a Phantom in the Opera House. Hold up let me explain. Back in Ancient Greece the actors used to leave offerings to the gods before the beginning of play for luck and good fortune and things like that. At the time the Paris Opera House was built and founded the Enlightenment was sweeping through Europe, studying Greek and Latin philosophers was the thing to do and Latin was once more the language of the elite and the clergy. The first managing director was a poet, highly skilled highly educated. It had started off as a joke by a visiting Englishman, leaving these offerings for good luck. Soon it became the thing to do and people eventually forgot why they were leaving offerings and the legend of the Phantom was born."

"That doesn't explain why it had closed down."

"That would partially be my fault." Hermione looked aghast. "Oi! Only partially! There was an alien on the loose that was killing people and I was trying to stop it. Except I kept appearing right after someone was killed and they all thought it was me. Also! I didn't burn the Opera House down on purpose." The Doctor made a ridiculous pouty face mixed with a kicked puppy look. Hermione sighed.

"It's like you actually need adult supervision."

"Oi! I'm 914. Thank you very much. And that. Should. Do. IT!" The Doctor finished setting up the recording device. Now all they had to do was wait. Until the moment that Hermione started giggling during the concert, The Doctor was bored. He looked at his companion and she flashed the number 5 with her hand. The Doctor mouthed to her that he knew that. She mouthed back wondering if he was actually serious. Catching the look of laughter in her eyes, he too started chuckling. Ludwig was glaring at the two of them. The Doctor shrugged apologetically, before he and Hermione dissolved into silent laughter. A few moments later, after the fact that Ludwig was at a loss on how to get their attention, The Doctor received a sharp jab in the ribs.

"What!"

"It's about time."

The laughter fell from his face as it turned cold; a shiver ran down both humans' spines. He edged forward toward the recording device and started it. As the symphony crescendo-ed to a climax an unearthly almost non-audible scream could be heard. A glint of satisfaction flashed in The Doctor's eyes before he dashed from the box.

oOo

Stones came tumbling down around Xi and he breathed a sigh of relief. Brushing the dust from himself, he ran from the now destroyed cell up the nearest staircase he could find. There was a thundering sound as he ascended the steps to a trap door. Cautiously, he cracked it open and found himself surrounded by the legs of chairs and people's feet. Xi deduced that the thundering sound was clapping as the feet started walking away. Carefully he crept out of the trap door and followed the musicians from the stage. Once back stage he navigated through all the people and instruments trying to find the way out. When he couldn't he looked around trying to find a familiar face and spotted Mozart'.

"Mozart!" Xi called out trying to make his way towards the composer. The man turned around and spotted Xi.

"Thank goodness! Your father was beside himself with worry. No matter, I know where he is, follow me."

"He's not…. I'm not…" Xi protested, following Mozart who was smiling knowingly, unseen by Xi.

They caught up with The Doctor in the Lobby, "Mozart, brilliant! Have you seen Xi? I caught The Hush so he should show any minute. He's here. I can feel it. So-" The Doctor caught sight of Xi. "Xi!"

"Doctor!"

The Doctor gathered the younger Time Lord in a hug. "I was worried. Are you alright? And thing broken, missing, in a strange place?"

"I'm fine." Xi chuckled, but was touched nonetheless. The Doctor let go as Hermione and Ludwig joined them.

"Everyone alright?" There were four sets of nods. "Just let me take care of the recording device and we'll be set to go."

Ten minutes later, The Doctor found them in Mozart's sitting room.

"Can't you destroy it?" Mozart asked. The Doctor shook his head.

"Nope, it would let this monster loose again. I wonder how it got out? I guess I'll just have to put it somewhere safe aboard the TARDIS. Now, Mozart, Ludwig not a hide nor hair of this." Both composers nodded.

"Too bad I was only passing through for the day," remarked Ludwig, "It was a pity that Mozart and I didn't have any more time to discuss things."

"Maybe someday, my boy." Mozart chuckled.

"Alright, we must be on our way," The Doctor said.

"Wait!" Ludwig jumped up and grabbed Hermione's wrist, "I have something I want to show you first."

"Okay." She replied following Ludwig to the pianoforte.

"Now I am an educated man and a woman likes to be romanced by poetry. Now as you are an Englishwoman I thought I would recite you Shakespeare, but as he found, you are definitely more mild and temperate than a summer's day. So let my music speak for me." Hermione gaped at him as he turned toward the pianoforte and began playing. She recognized the melody as the "Moonlight Sonata" but could tell it was a preliminary version of what would be known in the 21st century.

Hermione could hardly stutter out her thanks after he had finished. He kissed her hand and they all said their final goodbyes before Hermione, Xi and The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS The Doctor had parked right outside of Mozart's flat.

The two composers waved as the TARDIS vworped out of sight.


End file.
